If we are to trace the historical roots of the present murky waters at the Manila Bay, blame it on the debris, junk and trash that have accumulated through the years and got buried in this body of water. As of present estimate by environmental experts, the deposits of sludge, mud, muck, filth, silt etc. have thickened up two to three meters below the waters of the Manila Bay. Given the magnitude of the heavy siltation and pollution of this body of water, it is indeed a “tall order” for Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu to clean up and restore life to the moribund state of this iconic site of the Manila Bay sunset. President Rodrigo Duterte gave this ginormous task to the DENR Secretary. Cimatu was designated to head the inter-agency task force to clean up and rehabilitate Manila Bay. Now popularly called as the “Battle of Manila Bay,” Cimatu vows to wage this war against garbage and the culprits and the sources of the filth.

Villanueva, M. A. (2019, February 08). Winning the war vs garbage. The Philippine Star, p. 11.